


The Trials of an Imperial Princess

by DiannaPhantom27



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Ahsoka Tano Needs a Hug, Ahsoka is Anakin's daughter, Angst, Darth Vader Needs a Hug, Darth Vader Redemption, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Going to Hell, Imperial Princess Ahsoka, Propaganda, Sibling Bonding, Weird Concept turned serious, seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:00:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29181423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiannaPhantom27/pseuds/DiannaPhantom27
Summary: The interaction between a Sith Temple and a Jedi temple can lead to...strange things happening. When the energy from the exploding Sith temple on Malachor interacts with the portal opening from the in-between place, Ahsoka is returned to being 17, with no memories of having left the Jedi Order or the past 16 years.And this time, Darth Vader isn't going to let his daughter go.
Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Darth Vader, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker & Han Solo, Luke Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 66





	The Trials of an Imperial Princess

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, this is an absolutely mad idea that I turned into a serious angst filled story. Please note, this will feature heavy child abuse. And no, Vader is not the abuser. 
> 
> A big thanks to my friend Malcom for helping me with the plotting and brainstorming for this story!!!

**3 Years BBY: Malachor**

Darth Vader shoved a slab of rubble off of himself. This was the first time in years anyone had fought him this well. The first time since becoming Darth Vader that he’d been fought to a draw. He supposed if it was going to be anyone, it would be Ahsoka. She had once known him better than anyone baring Padme. Anakin Skywalker had loved Ahsoka as a daughter by the second day she was his Padawan. He’d watched her grow up with pride, and then he watched her walk away. 

When he’d found her lightsaber among the bodies of the 501st he’d felt a strange amount of relief. The idea of hunting her down had been so distasteful at the time and if she’d survived and Vader ignored her, his Master would find a way to kill her and hold it over him. He may have even presented Ahsoka’s body as proof. 

At least with her lightsaber, Vader had been allowed to mourn her, even in secret, even if he had to hide her saber away so the Emperor never suspected it.

But Ahsoka had not died. That had been a lie. Vader had been equally full of anger and hope upon discovering her survival. The conflicting feelings both burning inside of him, battling one another. He planned for weeks to convince her to return to his side, to once again train as his apprentice. When he saw her standing in front of him, a strange feeling of pride he’d long since forgotten. She’d grown up well. Beautiful and strong. More powerful in the Force than he’d expected. And her abilities as a duelist had only grown. 

He’d planned on killing her if she denied him. Quickly. A mercy so she wouldn’t be dragged in front of the Emperor. Tortured. Killed slowly when she refused to turn. Two sentences changed that. 

_ “I won’t leave you. Not this time.” _

A promise. A promise that nearly shattered him. A mercy, he’d chanted to himself, this was a mercy for her. A quick death over a torturous one. But when he loomed over her, her lightsabers buried into the temple below them as the power leaked from the cracks, he could not strike her. 

Ahsoka had met his eyes, but she didn’t remove her sabers.

And then the temple fell, and without thinking Vader had thrown his body over Ahsoka’s. A habit that was many years old, but apparently still engrained deeply inside him. Still, with her lightsabers buried in the temple’s stone, Ahsoka took the brunt of the Sith temple’s power. 

Vader stared down at her, his respirator breathing for him in a way that almost seemed heavier than before. It was like...looking into the past, both amazing and completely impossible. Her outfit remained the same, but somehow...she was not the young woman she had grown into. Her  montrals and lekku had shrunk dramatically, her face had rounded out, and her facial marks had shifted. It was as though she was seventeen again, before she’d left the Jedi Order. 

Unable to help himself, Vader reached downward and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. She did not stir, she remained still as stone and her eyes were softly closed. This was the first time Vader hadn’t seen the world through a red lens and he was surprisingly glad Ahsoka had broken his mask. As he brushed some of the dust from her face, he saw something...strange. 

Black veins were fading from her face. Just like Mortis. A flash of memory struck him like a runaway speeder. The Son, placing two fingers to Ahsoka’s forehead, only for her to fall down, body still stained black with Darkside poison, but her eyes white and lifeless. Instantly dead at Skywalker’s feet. 

But now the black was fading, and her chest was rising and falling with each steady breath. Vader stared at her for a few moments longer. His Master would want him to kill her, here while she was completely helpless, to plunge his lightsaber through her heart before she awoke.

_ “I won’t leave you.” _

It would be a mercy. 

_ “I won’t leave you.”  _

It wasn’t a promise. Not one made by this Ahsoka. She had walked away. What other choice did he have except killing her?

_ “I won’t leave you.”  _

His Master would never allow her to live. 

_ “Not this time.” _

Vader cursed, carefully lifting Ahsoka into his arms. He couldn’t kill her. Not like this, not when she appeared to be so young and innocent again. He would figure something out, someway to keep her safe from the Emperor. Somehow. 

Vader looked down at her sleeping form, adjusting his arms so she wouldn’t strain her neck.

He had his daughter again.

* * *

Ahsoka awoke in a Star Destroyer medical bay. She blinked up at the ceiling in confusion, trying to remember what she had done to end up here this time. She didn’t remember any explosions or crashes, she certainly hadn’t been shot, and she didn’t remember being sick. Of course, Kix might be on one of his “force the Jedi to sleep” kicks, but usually Anakin was the one that ended up sedated and hooked up to monitors after not sleeping for a few days. 

Ahsoka turned her head to the side, expecting to see Anakin perched on a chair next to her bed, pretending he hadn’t been scared to death by whatever had left her in the med bay, but instead she just saw stark white curtains. Ahsoka flexed her fingers carefully, running through every part of her body, from her toes to her  Montrals . Nothing really hurt, per say. She was sore all over, but it wasn’t any worse than a particularly hard training day at the Temple would have been. 

Ahsoka sat up with a groan, getting ready to climb out of bed, when the curtain flew open and closed again with the scrap of metal rings against metal rods. The medic was a clone, older than most clones Ahsoka knew, but medics tended to stay in service longer than their brothers. 

“Good, you’re awake,” the clone smiled and Ahsoka noted that his tattoos seemed...familiar. “How are you feeling?” 

“Fine. Sore. What happened?” 

The clone pulled a pen light out of his pocket and shined it in her eyes. “We’re not sure, ma’am. You were unconscious when you came in, but we couldn’t find any trace of trauma. You just...wouldn’t wake up.” 

Ahsoka’s brow furrowed as the medic held a laser thermometer up to her forehead. “Where’s General Skywalker?” 

The clone froze staring at her like she’d gone mad. “You don’t remember anything, do you?” 

“Remember  _ What _ ?”

“ _ Ahsoka. _ ” The clone looked at her with concerned eyes. Not “Commander Tano”, Ahsoka. Like the 501st or the 212th would have. With them it was always Ahsoka or kid when no one was around. 

That’s when it clicked. “...Kix?” She whispered. 

Kix just smiled. “It’s good to see you again, kid.” 

Ahsoka threw her arms around Kix’s neck, squeezing him in a full bodied hug. None of this made any sense to her. Clones aged faster than non-Clones, yes, but not  _ this  _ fast. 

“What happened?”

“Time,” Kix said, “Just time. Ahsoka, it’s been sixteen years since the end of the Clone Wars.” 

Ahsoka felt like she’d been dunked into a tub of freezing water. Sixteen years? How could she forget sixteen years of life. Panicking, she reached up and felt her  Montrals , then her lekku. They weren’t any longer. Why hadn’t they grown? A Torgruta’s lekku grew into their mid 30s, their montrals into their 50s. Sixteen years from her memory...Ahsoka should be 33. But...somehow she wasn’t. Somehow she was still 17. 

Ahsoka opened her mouth, ready to ask more questions, when a sudden dark chill filled the room. It felt almost like...a Sith Lord. Then Ahsoka felt tendrils of the darkness reach out and wrap around her, ghosting over her body and clinging in a way that was strangely protective. She shivered and reached down to her hips, feeling extremely exposed that her lightsabers weren’t there. 

The curtains flew open to reveal a frankly terrifying looking Sith. He was an imposing figure, huge and dressed entirely in black, his face hidden behind a harsh, angular mask. The loud cycle of his respirator filled her ears and echoed in her mind. She was trapped between wanting to run and wanting to attack. 

Why was there a Sith on a Republic Star Destroyer?!?!

“How is she?” The Sith asked Kix, his voice deep and rumbling. 

“Perfectly healthy, aside from the obvious, Lord Vader.” 

Ahsoka took the Sith’s moment of distraction and bolted past him, using just a little Force to push past before he could grab her. 

“AHSOKA!” the Sith roared.

Ahsoka ignored him and kept running. Medics yelled in surprise and jumped out of the way as she ran. She ran right out into the hall, not caring at all that she was shoving soldiers or officers aside as she did. Ahsoka felt so confused and she only knew one thing, she couldn’t stay here with a Sith. 

“CAPTURE HER, BUT DO NOT HARM HER!” 

Ahsoka jumped over a soldier’s head as he tried to grab her. A blue circle suddenly flew past her. Stun bolts. What was going on? What did they want? 

She reached out desperately with the Force, plunging right into her bond with Anakin. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been kidnapped, and it wouldn’t have been the first time it happened just to get to Anakin. But instead of Anakin’s warm, shining presence, she felt nothing but inky, thick darkness. And worse the darkness was reaching out to her in turn, trying to calm her and wrap protectively around her Force presence. 

She spun on her heels and turned towards the Sith. “Where’s Anakin?!” 

Ahsoka charged at the Sith, surprising the soldiers who practically fell on their asses to get out of her way. “What did you do to my father?!” She screeched. 

Before Ahsoka could strike out, the Sith wrapped his hands around her wrists. His grip was firm, and while it didn’t hurt, Ahsoka couldn’t break his hold. 

“Ahsoka…” 

The Sith’s low rumble was surprisingly gentle, and strangely familiar. Almost like...no. No. That was impossible. But the Force sang with the truth even with her just thinking that horrible thought. 

“No. No, no, no! No! It can’t be you! NO!” 

“It is. It’s me, Snips.”

Ahsoka let out a guttural yell and her knees gave out beneath her. Anakin, her father, who was now a  _ Sith _ , stopped her fall. A sob broke past her lips. Anakin had fallen! He fell into the Dark Side! What happened? 

Anakin’s thumb brushed against her cheek, whipping away a tear she didn’t even realize had escaped. “It is alright, my daughter. I have you. You are safe here.” 

* * *

Anakin had spirited Ahsoka from the crowded hallways in record time. The room he had taken her too was large, but bare. Everything was the standard steel grey and black of the Imperial Navy, but she still got the impression that this was an officer’s room. The bed was a double instead of a twin, the wardrobe had a lock on it, and there was a small table with a cushioned chair next to the large viewport. 

Ahsoka sat in that chair right now, staring blankly into the expanse of swirling hyperspace. Anakin had brought her to this room. Carried her actually, like she was thirteen and had broken her ankle during training again. He had left her in the bed to cry. Sixteen years ago, Anakin would have crawled into the bed with her, hugging her close, and whispering reassurances into her ears. And if that didn’t work, he’d drag her to Padme’s where Padme would bury Ahsoka in blankets and ice cream. 

Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe that suit didn’t come off, between the respirator and the fact that Anakin was somehow several inches taller now. It had been 16 years. If he’d turned to the Dark Side, then who knows what else had happened?

Ahsoka tugged her knees close to her chest. A world without Anakin Skywalker? What had happened to Padme? To Obi-Wan? Where were they? Why hadn’t they helped him? Why hadn’t they stopped this? Why hadn’t she? 

Had she even been there? She didn’t have a padawan braid anymore, and her clothes were distinctly Mandalorian inspired, something they’d only allow for a fellow warrior. A sister in arms. Had she been knighted? Fighting a battle on Mandalore alongside Mandalorians and a battalion of her own clones?

The lock on her door clicked open and the door opened with a swish. Of course he’d locked her in. She didn’t have the energy to run right now, but it was smart after the stunt she’d just pulled. 

Anakin strode in, cape flaring dramatically and respirator echoing through the room. He didn’t say anything and Ahsoka didn’t turn around. 

“How, Anakin? Why?” She asked, barely above a whisper. 

Anakin didn’t answer right away, letting his respirator cycle a few times as he walked up next to her to look out the viewport. “Padme was dying.”

“Mom?” Ahsoka managed to croak out, tears stinging her eyes again. 

“I’m sorry, Ahsoka. Your mother...and your sibling as well.”

“Mom was pregnant?” This just kept getting worse. 

“She was. We were married.” 

Ahsoka wanted to be shocked, but frankly, it made sense. Far too much sense. She knew it in her heart that they were in love, that they loved her like their daughter. It’s the married part that was news. 

But Ahsoka wasn’t ready to speak about the past. It was too raw, with Anakin standing there, so fully immersed in the Dark Side. 

“If it’s been 16 years,” she asked instead, “Why am I still 17?” 

Anakin let himself breath for 30 long seconds before answering. “Yesterday you weren’t 17. You were a young woman. You were investigating an ancient Sith Temple with a Jedi Knight, Kanen Jarrus, and his Padawan. There was an explosion, the temple was destroyed, and you were caught in the energy blast.”

“Can I be turned back?” 

“I do not know,” Vader admitted, “But that matters little at this moment.”

“I think it does!”

Vader turned sharply and loomed over her. Ahsoka leaned back, fear coiling in her stomach, eyes wide as she looked up at her father. Or...the man who used to be her father. She honestly wasn’t sure at this moment. She had seen Anakin angry before, but typically, Anakin’s anger had come from fear. He’d yell at her because she did something stupid, because he was afraid he’d lose her. 

Now? Now he just felt like a Sith. 

“Whatever the Force has seen fit to do matters far less to me than your life.” 

“...my life?” 

Vader...no Anakin, this was Anakin right now, kneeled down so he could look her in the eyes more easily. She could feel his sincerity. “You have the Force. You were a Jedi. Your very existence is illegal and the Emperor would have you killed. You are all I have left and I will not lose you again. I will do everything in my power to protect you, but you must listen to me.” 

Ahsoka felt herself begin to shake. “I need time. And information. You can’t ask me to make a decision without it.”

“There is no decision to be made. But I will give you information because you need to be informed. As for time...you will have plenty of it.” 

Vader...Anakin...whoever he was rose to his feet and turned to leave, clearly seeing this conversation as finished. 

But Ahsoka had one more question. “Am I your prisoner then?” 

Vader stood in the doorway for a few seconds, breathing before turning his head towards her. “You are my daughter,” he answered, as if that explained everything. Then, he was gone and Ahsoka was left alone. 


End file.
